Small wordsthey, them pronoun
- pûak falling
- kǎo rising
- Falling: start high and drop clearly, like a firm “No!”
- Rising: start low, dip, then rise to the top, like a doubtful “Really?”
he, she; him, her; they pronoun in speech
- kǎo rising
- Rising: start low, dip, then rise to the top, like a doubtful “Really?”
One word for he, she and they: the context tells you which.
เขาkǎo is taught in Unit 2 · Lesson 1: What's your name? of the free course.
Practise it freeHow to use it
พวกเขาpûak-kǎo is "they" and "them" for people. In conversation Thais often just say เขาkǎo, which covers he, she and they, and leave it to the context. For things and animals, use มันman or nothing at all: Thai drops "it" and "they" whenever it can. "Their" works like "our": บ้านพวกเขาbâan pûak-kǎo, their house.
Other spellings you'll see
There's no single official way to write Thai in English letters. We mark the tone of every syllable; online you'll also find:
- puak khao
- phuak khao
- pwak kao
More small words in Thai
All small words
Learn this word in Unit 2, free
Unit 2 · Nice to meet you · What's your name? Short lessons with audio for every word, speaking practice and spaced review. No sign-up needed.
Written by the Learn Thai For Free team
Audio: AI voices, quality-checked for tones